City officials discuss violence in Oakland

KGO

January 14, 2013 5:32:37 PM PST

by Nick Smith

OAKLAND, Calif. --

A violent weekend in Oakland has city officials answering questions about the recent homicides and shootings. Since Friday there have been 15 shootings in nine different locations. Four people were killed on Friday alone.

On Monday city leaders came to the same spot where one of Oakland's youngest victims of gun violence, 4-year old Carlos Nava, lost his life in 2011. One councilmember is calling for a state of emergency to be declared. But Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan says we're already in one.

"It is not two or three people, there's multiple people," Jordan said. According to the police chief, two groups are responsible for 90 percent of the violence plaguing the city over the past six months, "We're talking about murders, robberies, and shootings."

He says there is direct evidence tying those groups to at least one of the shootings over the weekend. Since Friday, there have been 15 victims of gunfire in Oakland.

SKY7 HD was over East 17th Street and 23rd Avenue when police responded and located a 22-year-old gunshot victim. It was later learned the man died from his injuries.

Less than half an hour later, a 30-year-old Oakland man was found shot to death on Canon Avenue at Wellington Street next to Dimond Park. Police believe he was killed somewhere else and his body was dumped at the site.

Chief Jordan wouldn't release information about the size of the groups behind the shootings and he wouldn't call them a gang, but he did say that he and his office are working with other agencies to curb the violence as if it were a state of emergency. But only one arrest has been made.

"We have to continue to gather intelligence to make sure we're focusing on the right people," Jordan said.

Looking for the right people can't come soon enough. Bobby Dell's son, Robert, was shot and killed last year. There have been no arrests in that crime, giving him a reason to push city leaders for answers and change.

"I wanna put an end to gun violence in the city of Oakland," Dell said. "I can't cure the world, I can't cure the United States or the whole state but I can make an imprint right here in our city."

Through a request made to Governor Jerry Brown, the U.S. Marshall's office assisted Oakland police with the only arrest of a suspect connected to this weekend's violence. They're actively looking for a second.

"This kind of fight between gangs didn't used to end with a dozen murders," Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said.

Mayor Quan believes the availability of guns by young people has escalated the violence. She hopes legislation being pushed by Vice President Biden will make the magazines used for automatic weapons harder to come by.